Table 3 Self-reported asthma symptoms during the fire period experienced by participants
From: The impact of prolonged landscape fire smoke exposure on women with asthma in Australia
Variable | Pregnant (n = 81) | Breastfeeding (n = 70) | Non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding (n = 232) |
|---|---|---|---|
Experienced asthma symptoms during the landscape fire period, n (%) | 71 (87.6) | 63 (90.0) | 192 (82.8) |
Exposure to smoke was the main reason for asthma symptoms, n (%) | |||
 Yes | 64 (90.1) | 54 (85.7) | 159 (82.8) |
 No | 1 (1.4) | 4 (6.3) | 2 (1.0) |
 Don’t know/Unsure | 6 (8.4) | 5 (7.9) | 28 (14.5) |
 Not exposed to landscape fire | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 3 (1.6) |
Asthma exacerbation | 72 (88.9) | 65 (92.9) | 191 (82.3) |
Types of asthma exacerbation, n (%) | |||
 Emergency department | 5 (6.2) | 1 (1.4) | 9 (3.9) |
 Unscheduled doctor visit | 23 (28.4) | 20 (28.6) | 62 (26.7) |
 Start/increase of OCS at least 3 days | 12 (14.8) | 12 (17.1) | 53 (22.8) |
 IV corticosteroids | 1 (1.2) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (1.7) |
 Increased reliever use | 67 (82.7) | 61 (87.1) | 185 (79.7) |
 Increased preventer dose/frequency | 45 (55.6) | 45 (64.3) | 119 (51.3) |
Number of times, median (Q1, Q3) | |||
 Emergency department | 1 (1,1) | 2 (2,2) | 1 (1,1) |
 Unscheduled doctor visit | 2 (1,3) | 2 (1,2.5) | 2 (1,3) |
 Start/increase of OCS ≥3 days | 1 (1,4) | 1.5 (1,5) | 2 (1,3) |
 IV corticosteroids | NA | NA | 1 (0.5,2.5) |
Thinks smoke from the landscape fires was the main reason for the exacerbation, n (%) | 63 (87.5) | 56 (86.1) | 166 (86.9) |
Not exposed | 1 (1.4) | 2 (3.1) | 5 (2.6) |